Red, Gold, and Fuchsia
by insanehpluver
Summary: There have been so many fics about how Harry and Hermione get together. What about after they get married? And the coincidences between Harry's child and him at that age are many...HHr, RL, post-Hogwarts. JUST UPDATED 112504
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. The plotline does, as far as I know of, but I think that's it...  
  
AN: This is just a taste of something I've been working on, and I was wondering if it was something that sounds like a good fanfic. Hope you enjoy it, and comments are very much appreciated.  
  
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Red, gold, and fuchsia laced across the heavens. The parched brown lawns of Wampum Lane were bordered with uniform white fences, four feet tall, and each yard with an orderly tan house. Every driveway had a silver PT Cruiser parked in it. In other words, the neighborhood was the image of an organized mind's picture-perfect world.  
  
Though all the houses were still and quiet, number ten's silence had a lot of meaning in it. Through the breakfast room's bay window, Byron Manden was watching football on the Mandens' wide-screen television. Clarissa Manden was cooking pork and mashed potatoes for dinner in their recently renovated kitchen, while her husband James sorted through his gun collection in their spacious den. The only unoccupied person in number ten, Wampum Lane was eleven-year-old Adriana Goldchester. She heard her cousin Byron yell, "I want that bike!" to her Aunt Clarissa. She snickered at the thought of Byron actually riding a bike. It was common knowledge that he was the most popular guy in school, and therefore he had several "bodyguards" that wheeled his bike along while he strutted flirtatiously (in an eleven-year- old way) around the playground.  
  
Adriana really wanted to go downstairs and eat, but she couldn't risk another row. She sighed, reflecting on her latest argument with Aunt Clarissa, about wanting to run upstairs and look at an owl which had mysteriously flown around their house in the daytime but having to clean the floors instead. Aunt Clarissa hated anything out of the ordinary, like owls flying about in the daytime.  
  
"Girl! Get down here!" Speak of the devil, Adriana thought. However, she responded to Aunt Clarissa.  
  
"Coming!" She took her time going downstairs, despite her stomach growling impatiently.  
  
Once she had plopped herself down in her seat, Uncle James pointed out to Byron her bushy brown hair, which was even more out of control tonight because of the humidity. Byron, whose own perfect wavy blond hair was exactly in place, laughed out loud. Aunt Clarissa ate in her dainty way, with her long nose in the air. Adriana ignored them and dug into her dinner, which was half the size of Byron's. Uncle James always made sure Adriana got less to eat than Byron. In fact, she was always fed less than everyone else at home. However, she could not remember a time before living with the Mandens, and was used to this sort of treatment.  
  
The rest of dinner passed quietly until an owl flew in the window.  
  
"Get it OUT of here!" Uncle James roared at Adriana. She sighed, trying to look annoyed, but really she was curious about the letters tied to its leg. She chased it up to her room. It stuck out its leg patiently, as if it had been through this before, and Adriana grabbed one of the official-looking envelopes that were tied to its leg. The owl gave a doleful hoot and swept off through her open window into the darkening July sky. She opened one of the letters that had caused the commotion and read:  
  
Dear Adriana Potter, The next school term starts September 1st. The train leave Platform 9 ¾, King's Cross Station, at 11:00 A.M. exactly. First years are required to have the following items: Scales Set of black robes Black hat Cauldron (pewter) Wand And an animal is optional. You may bring a cat, toad, or an owl.  
  
Enclosed is your booklist.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Adriana blinked, then, wondering if this was all a joke, opened the other letter. It contained:  
  
Adriana: You may know that King's Cross Station is in Great Britain, while you are in America. I thought you might want a chance to go to the same school your parents went to. I will be at your house at 5:00 A.M., your time, tomorrow to pick you up. Don't worry; I'll sort everything out with the Mandens. Sincerely,  
  
Albus Dumbledore Headmaster Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
"Girl!" came a voice in her doorway. Adriana jumped. She spun around to see Uncle James. He ordered her to get in bed and she did, the uncomfortable springs of Byron's old mattress rubbing into her back. She had expected to lay awake thinking for hours, but she fell straight asleep.  
  
Adriana dreamed about a man with untidy black hair, bright green eyes, and glasses next to a woman with warm brown eyes and lots of bushy brown hair much like her own watching her adoringly. Then the mood of dream changed. Flashes of light flew throughout the room.  
  
"Adie! Save Adie!" someone screamed. Having been temporarily blinded by the light, Adriana couldn't see her attacker. She saw an arm raise a long, thin piece of wood and point it at her. Adriana woke up screaming, drenched in cold sweat. The Mandens took no notice and kept on sleeping. Byron's snores filled the house. Adriana sighed and wiped her face on her pillow. She rolled over, went back to sleep, and forgot the dream.  
  
At 4:45, Adriana woke up, thanks to Aunt Clarissa pounding on her door, and remembered the second letter. She chose ten of her best outfits, and then figured, "What the heck, why not just bring them all? I mean, I don't even know how long the "term" is, or when I'll ever be coming back. It's not like I have too many clothes anyway." So she threw all of her clothes in an old suitcase of Byron's.  
  
"Morning, Nerdbrain," Byron sang at Adriana. "Hey! Give me my suitcase!" Given Byron's selfishness, Adriana wasn't surprised.  
  
"No, I need it, sorry."  
  
"Give me my suitcase!" he screeched. How immature, Adriana thought.  
  
"Well, how about a deal?"  
  
"What?" Byron said grumpily.  
  
"Give me your bigger suitcase." She knew that he wouldn't be able to reason that his bigger suitcase was worth more, since he was so worked up about the one she had.  
  
"Fine. Just give me my suitcase!" Adriana threw it at him and ran to his bedroom. She tore it apart looking for the bigger suitcase, anxiously thinking, He'll come after me any minute! She found the suitcase and—  
  
"—Put that down!" roared her uncle from the doorway, Byron standing smugly next to him. James ran to her with a mad glint in his eye. She had no doubt he was ready to throw her out the window. She backed toward the wall, but suddenly she found herself on the roof, clutching loose shingles. She blinked hard and whimpered. She moved to the middle of the roof and saw a black dot on the horizon getting bigger. Adriana backed up and knocked over the suitcase, amazingly filled with her clothes even though she hadn't had a chance to pack it. She picked it up and her mind was blank as she tried to make sense of the events that had just happened. All the while she was watching the dot get closer until she could see it was—strangely enough—a man riding on a broom. The man was the shabbiest person she had ever seen. He had robes that were more hole than cloth, his hair was gray and his beard untrimmed. He landed softly on the roof with a look of surprise on his face.  
  
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Okay, so that's the first chapter. Please tell me what you think! I think I'll put up the next chapter tomorrow, but after that I'll be away for a few weeks, so the next update after that will probably be one of the first days of August. So sorry for the inconvenience, guys! Maybe I'll put up an extra 2 chapters before I leave...coughreviewcough.  
  
insanehpluver 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. The plotline does, as far as I know of, but I think that's it...  
  
AN: Okay, this is the second chapter of Red, Gold, and Fuchsia. And yes, I know, the first 3 words of the first chapter are the same as the title. That happened accidentally-on-purpose, meaning that it is the title I intended for the story, and I know this sounds corny but those colors sounded good for the sky, and my partner-in-crime (my friend who assists me in ideas) thought that it would be a good way to kick it off...hmm. Maybe I'll have to pay more attention to her influence on the corny-ness of the story, huh? Anyways, back on track, second chapter, here it is, enjoy and review.  
  
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"I didn't think you'd be waiting on the roof!" The man exclaimed in a hoarse voice.  
  
"Sir—I mean, Mister Dumbledore, I—"  
  
"Oh, sorry, Dumbledore couldn't make it tonight. He has—ah—unfinished business to attend to. I'm Remus Lupin."  
  
"Sorry, Mr. Lupin—"  
  
"Just Lupin, if you don't mind."  
  
"Oh, sorry, uh, Lupin." Adriana was very confused now. "See, I don't know how I got on the roof. I was in there—" she gestured toward Byron's open window, through which Uncle James stuck his head out.  
  
"GET IN HERE, ADRIANA GOLDCHESTER!" he yelled.  
  
"Goldchester?" Lupin looked worried. "I was supposed to get an Adriana Potter!"  
  
"Wait—I-I-I think I might be her. I got a letter addressed to Adriana Potter yesterday, and the owl who delivered it seemed to know exactly who I was. And I had this dream," she added, suddenly remembering. She described it to Lupin. He looked at her, astonished.  
  
"Wow. I mean, that happened years ago, but that's Harry and Hermione!"  
  
"Did they die?" Adriana asked quietly.  
  
"No, in fact, they're waiting for us at the hea-I mean, where we're going. Hey," he said, "we ought to be going. You got your things? Good. Ever ridden before?"  
  
Adriana looked at him.  
  
"You can ride those things? Wait, no that's impossible...wake up, Adriana, waaaake up!"  
  
Lupin chuckled. "I forgot you don't know these things," he said.  
  
"What things?"  
  
"About the other world. Actually, I doubt I should be the one to explain this stuff to you...let's just go, okay?" Adriana nodded. Lupin helped her onto the broom and told her to hold onto his waist. "Don't let go," he instructed.  
  
The broom ride was amazing. Adriana could see for miles around. The sky was lightening around the edges as the sun started rising. "It's like the whole world is yawning and just waking up," she said, watching as, one by one, lights came on in the city apartments.  
  
"Wow," Lupin said, "You're good with words. Comes from your mum, no doubt. Harry can't express himself that way. Heaven knows how he got so many admirers in school..."  
  
"You mean—those people—Harry and Hermione—are my parents?"  
  
"Sure," Lupin said lightly. "You look just like your mother, with Harry's eyes, of course. Right, now here's the airport. Do you know much about them? Airports, I mean. I'm afraid I've never been in one."  
  
"The Mandens never took me anywhere. Are they really my aunt and uncle? We have nothing in common."  
  
"I doubt it. Hold on, we're diving!" The broom descended into the empty parking lot. "Dumbledore had to do a lot to make sure no Muggles would see us," Lupin explained.  
  
"Muggles?"  
  
"Non-magic folks," Lupin answered. "Do you think you could buy our tickets?"  
  
Adriana nodded and Lupin, looking very relieved, led her inside the airport and to the ticket counter. One glance at the person behind the counter told Adriana that this woman was not someone to cross. She had steely grey eyes which were squinted in grumpiness, and evidence of a perpetual frown creased her forehead. Adriana gulped and slowly made her way toward the counter. She avoided her gaze as she asked for two tickets to London.  
  
"My uncle's deaf," she explained, gesturing toward Lupin. "We're going to visit my grandparents." The woman, whose nametag read Mafalda, merely glared and punched some numbers into the computer. She produced to tickets to London, and Adriana snatched them and fast-walked back to Lupin. She shuddered at the thought of having to work with Mafalda, but otherwise put the grumpy ticket seller out of her mind as she walked with Lupin onto the airplane.  
  
Although she had gotten seats in coach, she thought that the seats were more comfortable than any seat she had had at home and settled right in. Lupin, however, nervously glanced out the window frequently. She put her hand on his arm and he relaxed slightly.  
  
"It's my first flight," he explained. "On an airplane, anyway. I'm used to broomsticks." Adriana smiled.  
  
"It's my first flight, too."  
  
For the rest of the flight, Adriana was quiet and thoughtful. She thought about her parents, and what a wild ride the past 24 hours had been, and about the new life she was heading into. Lupin, taking his lead from her, was silent but glanced at her every so often with a concerned look on his face.  
  
After they arrived in London, Adriana followed Lupin through the stuffy terminal. Lupin, who had carried the broom with him, pulled Adriana aside.  
  
"We have to find a place where no one will see us so we can take off," he whispered urgently. He spotted the observation tower and brought her to the top. They made sure no one was around before they mounted the broomstick and took off. Once again, Adriana felt the rush of the wind through her hair and let out a "Wahoo!" as they flew over a small town next to London.  
  
They landed with a thump in, at first glance, was an orderly neighborhood. At a closer look, Adriana could see that this neighborhood was not normal. For example, there were strange potato-like creatures running through an herb garden, which had herbs she had never seen before, Lupin strode to number 43 and beckoned Adriana closer. He tapped a pattern in the bricks beside the door. A red-headed man stuck his head out the window.  
  
"Hey, Professor Lupin. I'll tell them you're here."  
  
"Hi, Ron. This is Adriana. Adriana, Ron Weasley." Ron stared at her.  
  
"Blimey," he said, before pulling his head in the window. While they had been talking, another house, number 44, had pushed its way into the space between numbers 45 and 43. Adriana's bright green eyes widened. The door opened and Lupin nudged Adriana through.  
  
"Harry! Hermione! We're here!" he called.  
  
"Ooh, coming!" a female voice called back down the mahogany staircase.  
  
"Is Harry here?" Lupin said loudly, as if he was carrying on a conversation with someone across the house. Adriana supposed he was, but by now her brain was so overflowed with the impossible things she had seen today it was too exhausted to carry complicated thoughts.  
  
"I don't know," Hermione yelled back. "I think he and Dumbledore are still working on that important business he mentioned earlier."  
  
Adriana stared at the photographs on the hall table. Those people, she thought, they look like me! Lupin saw her looking at the pictures and silently pointed to one. Her eyes followed his finger and rested on a picture of the man and woman in her dream holding a toddler with lots of brown hair and green eyes.  
  
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I haven't decided yet if I want to update the next 2 chapters before I go, so maybe you guys should tell me. After all, you're the ones who read. (  
  
insanehpluver 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Everything related to Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. The plotline does, as far as I know of, but I think that's it...  
  
AN: Yay, the 3rd chapter! Same drill, read and review, and thank you so much! So the 4th chapter won't be out for...3 weeks, I think, but when I come back I'm immediately putting it up so you can get it ASAP.  
  
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A soft pattering came down the stairs. Adriana turned to see a woman with sleek brown hair and mud eyes looking fondly at her.  
  
"Adie. You're home," she said and engulfed Adriana in her arms. "I'll never let you go ever again," she said, her voice thick with emotion. Hermione let go of Adriana and said, "Right, well, professor Lupin, do you think you could talk to—oh, honey, feel free to dump your things in your room. Up the stairs and the third door to the left."  
  
Adriana left the talking adults and trudged upstairs. She counted the doors gloomily. She knew she would wake up before she found out what this mysterious world was, and what it was all about, or before she met her father.  
  
She collapsed on her bed. It was much more comfortable then the bed at number 10, Wampum Lane, that was for sure. Perhaps when she woke up she would find out that Aunt Clarissa had taken pity on her and bought her a new mattress. Or maybe she fell asleep on the couch.  
  
Ping! Ping!  
  
Adriana sat up sharply at the sound of rocks being thrown at her window. She looked outside and saw a boy about her age with flaming red hair grinning at her from the window of Ron Weasley's house. He yelled, "I'll be right over!" and was gone. Adriana panicked. Who was this boy? She flew down the stairs.  
  
"Okay, Adie, you can call me Mum, Harry's Dad, and—oh, Will, hello! This is Adriana. Adriana, Will Weasley. Does Ron know you're here?"  
  
"Yeah," he said. "Come on over, I'll show you Bella and Gerald and Chrissie...those are my brother and sisters. Some of them, anyway. Come on!"  
  
"Will, no, I'm sorry, but Adriana needs to be here when Harry comes home. Tell everyone to come by tomorrow, okay?" Adriana's heart leaped as she thought about meeting lots of new people.  
  
"Bye Adriana. See you tomorrow," Will said, flashing a smile as he exited.  
  
"So, what do you want to do first?" Hermione asked. Then, seeing Adriana's grin, she smiled. "Let me contact Dumbledore. Then you might be able to see him and Harry. You can go play after, alright? I know it will be awkward at first, but we'll manage." Hermione kissed Adriana on the top of her head and said, "Come here. You ought to see some magic before you go to school." Hermione pulled a very puzzled and confused Adriana into the study and set her in front of the marble fireplace. "I'll be right back," she said, and swept out of the room. Adriana sat thoughtfully in one of the huge armchairs. She had so many questions going through her mind she did not notice Hermione had appeared suddenly with a Pop! next to her elbow until Hermione spoke.  
  
"Knut for your thoughts?"  
  
"A nut? Isn't the saying 'penny for your thoughts?'?" Hermione laughed.  
  
"No, in the wizarding world it's Knut." Adriana's eyes grew wider than Hermione thought was possible at the w word. "What? Didn't Professor Lupin tell you about witches and wizards and all that?" Adriana shook her head violently. "Oh, dear...Well, I suppose there's no point in keeping it from you any longer...you're a witch, Adriana. And with Harry and me for parents, you should be a strong one, but I suppose it's not very generic...Just look at poor Neville." She shuddered. "Anyway, back to the magic. Watch closely," she instructed. She tossed a pinch of powder into the roaring fire. The flames turned green, though they still cackled merrily. Hermione stuck her head into the fire and said, "Dumbledore's Office!" Adriana shrieked, horrified that her mother was burning her head on purpose, and muttering nonsense phrases. Hermione gave her a not-very-reassuring thumb up. "Hey," she said into the fire, "is Dumbledore ar—oh, hi, Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione said nervously. "Is Harry around?" She paused, apparently listening hard. "Oh. Okay, he should be home soon, then. I hope he's alright," she added worriedly. "Thanks for your help. Oh, Adriana? Sure. Just a second. Adriana," she said, pulling her surprisingly unburnt head out of the fire.  
  
"Doesn't that hurt? Usually I get awful blisters and burns from Byron sticking my hand in the fire as a joke. I'd think getting your head burnt would hurt awful!"  
  
"No, no if you're using Floo Powder," she said matter-of-factly. Then, on a more concerned note, "Byron stuck your hand in the fire? Are you okay? Don't his parents punish him?" Adriana shook her head accordingly. "Alright, then. Wait for Dumbledore—he'll be in the fire in a second. Etiquette around the headmaster: call him Professor Dumbledore. And also—"  
  
"Hermione! I'm home!" someone shouted from downstairs.  
  
"In the study!" Hermione yelled back. "That would be Harry. I wonder where he's been?" she wondered aloud before hurrying out to greet him. Pop! A face appeared in the fire. It had a long, silver beard, long, silver hair, and crescent moon glasses.  
  
"Adriana," it said, "pleased to meet you. I am Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster. I see you and Remus made the trip well. I know you have questions, but I'm rather in a hurry."  
  
"P-P-Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I don't know if I'm really the Adriana you want. I mean, up till today my name was Adriana Goldchester, I lived with my aunt and uncle, and I never, ever, did magic in my life. Magic didn't even exist!" Silence settled after her outburst.  
  
"Yes, well, I'll have to explain that later," Dumbledore said suddenly. "Can you get you parents in here?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Adriana said obediently, and went off to find them. She found them in a corridor and all over each other. She backed silently out of the hall and then made as much noise as she could turning the corner again, taking her time. When she finally made it to the corridor again, they were walking toward her. There was no evidence of what she had just witnessed, but Hermione's hair was a little bushier than before and her shirt was slightly untucked.  
  
"Er—Mum? Dad? Professor Dumbledore wants to talk with you."  
  
"Okay—" Harry started, but Hermione interrupted him.  
  
"I'll talk to Dumbledore. You can get to know your daughter a bit."  
  
"Yes, ma'am!" Harry saluted. He winked at Adriana, but Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Just don't break anything!" she yelled over her shoulder as she raced back to the study. Adriana laughed and Harry looked hurt.  
  
"Does Professor Dumbledore have a body?" she inquired.  
  
"Yeah," Harry said, surprised. "I take it you've never used Floo Powder?"  
  
"I've never used or done anything magical before."  
  
"I'll teach you everything you need to know, squirt."  
  
"Huh. That's not much, I bet," she teased. Harry laughed and ruffled her hair.  
  
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Thanks for reading, and please review. Love you all!

insanehpluver


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter; it belongs to JK Rowling and some other lucky people.

AN: Wow it's been a while, hasn't it? This chapter is kind of short, I think, but I hope it'll keep you occupied while I finish up the next couple. As always, read, review, and thanks for reading!

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The next week, though grey and wet, was the best Adriana had ever experienced. She and Will got together many times, and grew to be best friends. Hermione was the best mother; she did everything Clarissa hadn't and more. Adriana and Harry had a unique bond, though he and Dumbledore were often busy with "important business."

Finally the time came when they needed to get Adriana's school things. Hermione said there was only one place to get it all: "Diagon Alley." So they fixed a date with the Weasleys to go shopping.

The day dawned grey but humid. "Wake up, sleepyhead!" yelled Harry. Adriana groaned and opened her eyes. She saw her father grinning at her. All of a sudden she went blind and deaf; in her mind's eye she saw flashes of green light and heard "No! Not Harry! Please don't kill Harry! I'll do anything!" screamed by a desperate-sounding female, then all went black.

"Adriana! HERMIONE! HELP! ADRIANA! Adriana, wake up, oh please wake up," pleaded Harry.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Hermione as she ran into the room. Adriana moaned; her skin was deathly pale, and she was twitching uncontrollably. Hermione screamed. "Harry, do something! Oh, Adriana, my baby, oh no, oh my baby, Adriana…" she said, panicking. Harry couldn't do anything but wait for Adriana to wake up. Not for the first time in his life, he was helpless to fix the situation. The only thoughts running through his head were about it being his entire fault…his entire fault…

Adriana moaned again, and then slowly opened her eyes. All she could see were two blurs. She blinked. Now they were clearer blobs. She blinked again. She saw a pair of bright green eyes behind glasses. Somehow she didn't recall glasses and eyes ever floating independent of a body, but then many things in the past month had been unexpected. She blinked again. She saw that it wasn't a pair of glasses and green eyes, but there was a head attached. And that head looked very worried. She blinked once more, and saw her parents standing over her. Hermione was hysterical, while Harry just looked worried and on the verge of tears that he tried not to let his wife see. Hermione yelped. Harry looked distinctly relieved.

"What _happened_?" he asked.

"Green light," Adriana answered in a shaky voice. "Lots of green light." Her parents exchanged a look. She couldn't tell if it was a worried look or one that thought she was nutters. "Then screams, like 'Not Harry! No!' Then…black." Hermione hugged her tightly and kissed her head over and over, and Harry cleared his throat.

"That-that was my parents dying," he said, his voice breaking. "I've relived it many times, thanks to Dementors. They were murdered by Lord Voldemort. He tried to kill me. Too, but I survived. And so, I'm famous in my generation, because no one else he's tried to kill ever lived. He's tried to kill me again and again, but so far I've lived. Unfortunately, as long as he's not totally human, he can't be properly killed. Dumbledore and I are working on it…" Adriana felt a tear on her nose, and realized Hermione was crying. "Hermione, honey, no, don't cry, it's all sorted out, don't cry, it'll be okay…" Harry tried to console the sobbing Hermione. "Your mum can get very emotional when she wants to," he explained to Adriana, trying to get one of them to smile. When that didn't work, he said, "Let's go shopping. Maybe the age-old myth that women are powerless against the lure of shopping will cheer you up."

"Should we go by Floo Powder?" Hermione asked, wiping her nose. Harry simply left the room and went into the study. "I guess that's a yes," said Hermione. "Put your clothes on, and then meet us in the study, okay? And if-if that ever happens again, make sure you let one of us know." She, too, went to the study.

Adriana pulled on her best pair of navy blue slacks and her favorite white sweater. She yanked a brush through her bushy brown hair and slipped on her sneakers. All her clothes were very worn out. She was nervous about using Floo Powder; she knew she would have to get in the flames somehow.

"Adriana, come on!" yelled Harry eagerly. "Let's go!" he added playfully. Adriana hurried into the study. "Allow me to demonstrate," Harry said. He threw a pinch of the powder into the fire, which turned green. He saluted to the girls, stepped into the fire, and yelled "Diagon Alley!" He vanished. Adriana winced and whimpered.

"Now, honey, it really isn't hard, and it doesn't hurt," Hermione said "Just throw a handful of Floo Powder into the fire, step in, and yell 'Diagon Alley!' Make sure to keep your elbows tucked in," she added. "Now go, and you dad and I will make sure you're all right." Adriana nodded. She put a shaking hand into the pot, threw it into the fire, and watched the crackling flames turn green. She stood at the threshold of the fire; her mind telling her to _go, now_, but her body not moving an inch. She took a deep breath, clenched her eyes shut, and cautiously stepped into the fire, expecting to be burned to a crisp. It didn't burn; in fact, it was pleasantly warm.

"Diagon Alley!" she said, and was instantly spinning through fireplace after fireplace. Finally she felt herself slowing down, so she relaxed her arms and accidentally hit her elbows on the sides of the fireplace and fell into her father's arms. He pulled her away from the fireplace and waited for Hermione to come. A minute later, she did—with the whole Weasley clan.

"Adriana, these are my brothers and sisters," Will said importantly. "You've already met some of them, but in case you've forgotten, I'll review." A tall girl with bright red hair rolled her eyes. "This is my mum and dad, Ronald and Luna Weasley. And Bella, the oldest," she was the one who had rolled her eyes, "and Gerald, the next oldest," he gestured toward a tall boy with hair like his blonde mother's, "then Arnold, Jake, and Chrissie, the triplets," they were built smaller, with blond hair, "and Julie, the youngest." Julie had a small body and red hair. Adriana thought she couldn't have been more than 8 or 9.

"Shall we get cracking, then?" Ron asked. A murmur of assent washed through the group. Ron grinned. "Let's go."

The triplets raced for Quality Quidditch Supplies, a store totally devoted to the wizard sport of Quidditch that Will could talk for hours about. Hermione laughed and herded them all toward Flourish and Blott's, the local bookstore. This was no surprise to Adriana; in the month that she had known her mother, she had learned that the only things Hermione loved as much as her family and friends were her books. Harry frowned.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," he moaned. "Can't we please take a quick peek inside the Quidditch place? It won't take much time!" Ron agreed, and most of the Weasleys plus Harry whined in favor of Quidditch over books. Hermione stood firm, though.

One step into Flourish and Blott's, and Adriana found herself immersed in shelf upon shelf of numerous books. Hermione was the only one to stroll toward the store clerk and tell him the books they needed. The rest of the shopping gang hung back, eager to get back to the Quidditch store.

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That's all for now . . . See you soon, I hope!

insanehpluver


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